By William Shakespeare
Directed by Jay Manley with Jane Goodwin
Saturdays and Sundays August 16 - 31 plus Labor day Sept 1st. , 4PM
John Hinkel Park Amphitheater
Reservations | Read More | Photos | Directions | Program

Show dates are Saturdays and Sundays August 16 - 31 plus Labor Day Monday, September 1st, performed in the beautiful outdoor setting of the John Hinkel Park Amphitheater, 41 Somerset Pl, Berkeley, CA 94707, all at 4 pm.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is one of Shakespeare's funniest comedies, involving the "taming" of the very independent Kate by the complex and charming Petruchio. Lauded for it's humor, TAMING is also challenging because the nature of Kate's and Petruchio's relationship is often interpreted in a simplistic and mysogynistic fashion - though this interpretation is by no means the only one - come see how our directors along with our heady group of actors meet the challenge, helped along by a generous dose of Commedia dell'Arte and the beautiful environs  of John Hinkel Park!

Amphitheater Seating / Reservations

The amphitheater consists of a series of stone terraces. The performance is open to the public and free.  A few weeks before the play opens we will make available the ability to reserve locations (at no charge) in the first two rows (one step above ground level) specifically for folks with limited mobility or hearing issues, and spots at ground level for wheelchair users and their companions.  <Link to Seating Picture> <Link to Reservations>

CAST

Katherine – Audrey Schultz
Bianca – J. V.
Petruchio – Dominic Canty
Lucentio – Ryan Chu
Tranio – Najee Joyner
Grumio – Adonis Reyes
Biondello – Isabella Shipman
Gremio – Bruce Kaplan
Hortensio – Abe Karplus
Baptista - Evan Mooney
Merchant/Ensemble - Al Badger
Widow, Curtis/Ensemble - Helen Kim
Tailor/Ensemble – Patrice Binaisa
Haberdasher/Ensemble – Blue Scott
Vincentio/Ensemble – Stanley Spenger
Nathaniel/Ensemble - Veronica Dolginko

PRODUCTION

Directed by Jay Manley, who has directed throughout the Bay Area, including many award-winning productions, ranging from six “Mountain Plays,” presented at the huge amphitheatre atop Mount Tamalpais, to intimate, new works, including "The Divine Sarah" and most recently "The Spitfire Grill", both at Ross Valley Players.  In August 2024 he directed AE's production of  "The Imaginary Invalid" at Hinkel.

Our Assistant Director is longtime AE board member Jane Goodwin, who was also his assistant director for "Imaginary".

Stage Management by Amanika Rapplin
Costumes by Lyre Alston.
Set design by Kirsten Yamaguchi.
Props by Susan Dunn and Vance Martin
Photos and Graphic Design by Vicki Victoria
Intimacy/Fight Coach – Zoe Swenson-Graham
Production, etc. by Jerome Solberg

BIOGRAPHIES

CAST

Audrey Schultz (she/her) (Katherine) is a local Bay Area actor based in Berkeley, California— and is excited to be in this wonderful production! Recent credits include Peggy Day in The Women with Napa Valley Players, Siduri in The Epic of Gilgamesh with Stray Dog Theater Co. She has a BA in Theatre and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley, where she put emphasis into acting. Audrey enjoys making sense of difficult language, and when not performing, loves to write and direct when she can. IG: @_aschu_

Dominic Canty (Petruchio) made his Actors Ensemble debut earlier this  summer as Posthumus in Cymbeline.  Some recent credits include the role of MacDufff in Macbeth and Peter in Peter and the Starcatcher, both at The College of Marin.

Ryan Chu (Lucentio) is delighted to collaborate with AE again as he takes his second foray into the lofty task of realizing the eminent Bard’s work, after portraying the Second Lord and Arviragus earlier this summer in AE's production of Cymbeline, after playing Happy in AE's critically-acclaimed production of Death of a Salesman. Outside of the theater, you can find him rereading the books of Brandon Sanderson, picking up and putting down heavy things at the gym, or cooing at and trying to adopt stray cats from his neighborhood. He thanks his parents and friends for their support, and YOU for supporting live theater!

Najee Joyner (Tranio) is a young actor and writer from the small town of Saint Stephen, South Carolina. Population: everyone knows everybody. Now residing in San Francisco, California where he was able to earn his Master of Fine Arts in acting at the Academy of the Arts University. During his time in San Francisco, he has been able to perform for the African American Shakespeare company as Vincentio in The Taming of the Shrew, multiple characters for the staged reading of 3rd and Palou by Biko Eisen-Martin, and as well as act in different short film productions for his alma mater. The world of acting first called out to him in his last year of high school which led to him making it a career path during his time at the University of South Carolina-Upstate where he earned his Bachelors of Arts in theatre performance with a minor in film studies. To Najee acting and writing help him dive and expound upon worlds known to him and help him discover different sides of humanity unknown to him as well. Najee’s goal in his art is showing the expressions of his community in all facets, however they may show themselves.

Adonis Reyes (Grumio) is making his Actors Ensemble debut in The Taming of the Shrew. Adonis is a new alumni from the College of Marin and has performed at COM over the years (The Snow Queen, Much Ado About Nothing). Alongside that, he has worked with Novato Theater Company (Shakespeare in Love) and worked backstage at Ross Valley Players. An aspiring clown at heart, he is excited for audiences to enjoy this show!

Isabella Shipman (she/her) (Biondello) is thrilled to be making her Actors Ensemble debut! She is extra ecstatic to be in her favourite Shakespeare play! You might have spotted her recently in UC Berkeley's Lysistrata or BareStage Productions' Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 When she's not on stage, you may find her singing, rehearsing, and most definitely yapping. She wants to thank everyone involved in this fantastic project, and her amazing loved ones!  

 Bruce Kaplan (Gremio) is excited to be performing in his happy place (Hinkel Park) once again. Last summer he played Argan here in The Imaginary Invalid. He followed that by playing Willy Loman in AE's Death of a Salesman. Other recent favorite roles include Mayor Shinn in The Music Man and Mr. Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors (Pinole Players), Gloucester in King Lear (Berkeley Shakes), and the Wizard in Wizard of Oz (Tri-Valley Theater). Thanks for supporting community theater!

Abe Karplus (Hortensio) is excited to be working with Actors Ensemble again. Abe has been acting since the age of four, most recently with Bard Theatre, Berkeley Shakes, and the BL Rocky Horror shadowcast. Outside of the theater, he's a software engineer, designing satellites to bring internet access across the globe.

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Evan Mooney (Baptista) is excited to be working again with Actors Ensemble after appearing last year as Ben Loman and Stanley in Death of a Salesman at LaVal's. Recently he's appeared with Masquers as John in Calendar Girls and as Russ/Dan in Clybourne Park.  Other roles include Edmund in King Lear with Foodbank Players in Alameda and Samuel Ratchett in Murder On the Orient Express with the San Leandro Players.  Evan dedicates his performance to the memory of his Mom who first introduced him to theatre  and was always his biggest fan.

Al Badger (Merchant/Ensemble) is honored to return to Actors Ensemble for the second time since 2012's Arcadia, after playing Belarius earlier this summer in Cymbeline.  In what time remains after yarn crafting and feral cat maintenance, he has performed many times with San Francisco's Generation Theater, most notably as Escartefigue in Marcel Pagnol's Marseille Trilogy. His IMDB listing has two entries, only one of which is an X-rated hand-puppet movie.

Helen Kim (Curtis/Widow/Ensemble) is thrilled to be back with Actors Ensemble where she was previously seen in Fortinbras and The Skin of Our Teeth.  Most recently, she played Grace in Into The Breeches! at Masquers Playhouse.  Other Bay Area credits include CLUE (Onstage Repertory Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Curtain Theatre Company); Pride and Prejudice The Musical, Reservations, and The Packrat Gene (Ross Valley Players); Pygmalion (Orinda Starlight Village Players); and the U.S. Premiere of The Great Wave (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). 

Patrice Binaisa (Tailor/Ensemble) is a Berkeley-based Ugandan-American actor, making third foray into the world of Shakespeare, after recently appearing as the 1st Lord and Sicilius in Actors Ensemble's production earlier this summer of Cymbeline.   Patrice is dedicating his performance to his sister Lillian Binaisa.

Blue Scott (Haberdasher/Ensemble), 19, has been in nine Shakespeare plays, most recently Macbeth, King Lear, and Richard II with American Youth Shakespeare. In his free time he enjoys reading, writing, and watching films. Shakespeare has been a wonderful source of community for Blue since he was 13, and he is excited to be involved in The Taming of the Shrew!

Stanley Spenger (Vincentio/Ensemble) has been treading the AE boards for four decades since 1985’s Ah! Wilderness, most recently appearing in last year's show The Imaginary Invalid as well as playing the role of Pisanio earlier this summer in AE's Cymbeline.  Along the way, he became the founder of Subterranean Cabaret Theater and Subterranean Shakespeare, and was among the early founding members of Shotgun Players. He’s appeared in Shakespeare productions all over the Bay Area, where he continues his long, occasionally ridiculous, always passionate love affair with the Bard.

Veronica Dolginko (Nathaniel/Ensemble) (also known as Titus Androgynous) is a SF-based writer and performer. Her books can be found on Readict and JoyLit under her drag name and she is the co-founder of the alternative movie site Back Row Cinema. She also is a board member of Eclectic Box in the Mission District.

J.V. (Bianca) originally hails from Stillwater, Oklahoma, where her parents  were mid-level administrators for Oklahoma State University.  In the amazingly stimulating environment of her home state, she caught the theater bug early on (the state song is, after all, Oklahoma!) but married young to an heir to the Omaha Steaks fortune and began her life as a jet-setting bon-vivant.  Her subsequent life led to achievements as diverse as discovering a new species of annelid worm in Papua New Guinea and becoming the leading purveyor of powered unicycles in the Balkan Peninsula.  Still, periodically she has to tend to her theatrical heart, and thus alights in the Bay Area, where she has performed with many local companies, including a few productions for Actors Ensemble.

PRODUCTION

Directed by Jay Manley, who has directed throughout the Bay Area, including many award-winning productions, ranging from six “Mountain Plays,” presented at the huge amphitheatre atop Mount Tamalpais, to intimate, new works, including "The Divine Sarah" and most recently "The Spitfire Grill", both at Ross Valley Players.  In August 2024 he directed AE's production of  "The Imaginary Invalid" at Hinkel.

Jane Goodwin (Associate Director) is happy to be back again at Hinkel this summer assisting Jay Manley with the iconic Shrew after doing the same last summer with the fun Imaginary Invalid. Eons ago she performed here with Berkeley Shakespeare Festival & has been in a couple of shows & play readings with Actors Ensemble. After retiring from UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances she joined AE’s Board to keep her hand in the biz she loves - supporting the arts which is so important these precarious days. Many thanks for coming!

Amanika Rapplin (she/they), Stage Management,  is thrilled to be joining the Actors Ensemble as stage manager! While she loves stage managing and plans to continue in the future, her biggest passion is dance and combining it with theatre. She is currently transferring to SFSU as a double theatre and dance major. You may have seen her in Marin Musical Theatre Co.’s production of Cabaret (Rosie) or College of Marin’s The Snow Queen (Cobweb), Macbeth (Lady Macbeth), or The Late Wedding. When she’s not on- or back-stage, you’ll find her singing, dancing, reading, or cuddling with a small, rotund chihuahua.

Costumes by Lyre Alston (he/him/she/her) | Lyre is a designer working in and around the bay area in both Costume design and Wig/Makeup design/artistry. Some recent shows include Hadestown with Throckmorton Theatre, Daisy with Hillbarn Theatre, Peter Panto at Presidio Theatre, and with AE Cymbeline earlier this year, Death of a Salesman last Fall and Much Ado About Nothing and The Imaginary Invalid last summer.

Set design by Kirsten Yamaguchi  | This is the fifth AE production Kirsten has designed after Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing, The Imaginary Invalid, and Death of a Salesman. In addition to set design, Kirsten Yamaguchi has designed many theater programs and posters, taught theater design and animation, and worked as an animator on feature films, games and more. As a youth in Los Angeles, Kirsten performed on stage in many musicals and with choirs. https://www.yamaguchianimation.com/

Props by Susan Dunn  | Susan is thrilled to work props once again with Actors Ensemble at her favorite outdoor venue, John Hinkel Park, after having designed the props for "Cymbeline" with AE earlier this summer.  Susan is a devotee of all things theater:  she has worked Theater Boards at 5 local theaters, had a stint as president of Altarena Playhouse, been a theater critic at SFBATCC and TBA and also contributes to Bay Area Theatre by continuing one of her most valuable roles  theater Audience.  She attends theater and opera in all parts of the Bay Area.  Read her reviews on Theatrius.com., For All Events, Aisle Seat Review and Reviews Bay Area.  Thanks again to AEB for this chance to contribute to "The Taming of the Shrew".

Props by Vance Martin
Photos and Graphic Design by Vicki Victoria
Intimacy/Fight Coach – Zoe Swenson-Graham
Production, etc. by Jerome Solberg

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Jay Manley with Jane Goodwin
produced by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley
4 p.m. Saturday/Sunday August 16th - August 31st plus Labor Day Monday, September 1st.
John Hinkel Park Amphitheatre
41 Somerset Pl.,  Berkeley, CA 94707.
Performances are Free of Charge
www.aeofberkeley.org

Actors Ensemble
P.O. Box 663
Berkeley, CA 94701
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.aeofberkeley.org
A 501(3)(c) organization